


Jealousy Date

by SmartZelda



Series: Soriku Oneshots [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Confessions, M/M, Riku In Love (Kingdom Hearts), Some angst, Soriku - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-08 03:31:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20828702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmartZelda/pseuds/SmartZelda
Summary: Sora's too anxious to ask Kairi to go out with him, so instead, he decides to make her jealous enough to ask him out on a date. His method? Fake dating. He creates a list of people to ask, and only one person agrees. Guess who.





	Jealousy Date

**Author's Note:**

> There is never smut, only fluff and/or angst.

"Hey, Roxas!" Sora runs up to Roxas who is waiting in front of an icecream truck.

"Yeah, Sora?" Roxas hands some munny to the guy in the truck.

"Would you go on a date with me tomorrow night?"

"Ummm...why?" Roxas inquires.

_Well...at least he didn't say 'no' immediately._

"Well...uh...well you see...I...I want to ask Kairi out on a date, but I'm afraid she'll say no and that she's into someone else so...I'm trying to find another date to make her jealous so maybe she'll ask me..."

Roxas stands in thought for a second before answering, "Nice idea, but I'll have to say no. Sorry, Sora."

Sora begins to pout, "But why?"

"Well, first, Xion and Axel and I are going to be hanging out tomorrow night, then-"

"But you guys always hang out every night!" Sora interrupts.

"Well, yeah...and I would like to keep it that way because that's the best time of every day...Now, what I was going to say was that, second, whether it's fake or not...I'd rather not have anyone think I'm dating anyone or that I'm into anyone that I'm not."

"I...guess that's understandable..." Sora grumbles.

"Sorry again, Sora." Roxas picks up three sea salt icecreams from the guy in the icecream truck. "Maybe you should just build up the courage to ask Kairi yourself. "

"Ahhh, well...maybe..." Sora rubs the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, whatever happens, good luck, Sora!" Roxas waves goodbye at Sora, then turns to walk away from him, icecreams in hand.

Sora begins to walk the opposite way, towards the park, taking out a small notepad and a pen from his pocket. He starts flipping through the notepad as he walks.

_Everyone_ _ said no._

Sora sighs.

_First, I tried all the girls because that's usually how you play the jealousy game when you're trying to make other girls jealous, but Xion said no for about the same reasons as Roxas, Selphie because she has a boyfriend and is already going on a date with him, and Namine just said no because she's busy...although, 'busy' probably just means busy drawing in her room alone..._

Sora sits down on a swing on the swingset across from a bench and continues to flip through pages.

_I decided not to try Larxene because no...just no...So, I switched to asking all the guys I knew even though it probably wouldn't work as well. It was the only way I could continue with my plan. So...I asked Axel, and he said no because he just didn't want to. Demyx said no because he had a date with his sitar...I didn't ask Marluxia because once again, no...just no...Tidus said he had a date with his girlfriend, Wakka is sick, Ventus has to go to sword practice, and I already know why Roxas said no..._

All of the people Sora asked had their names written down in the notepad and were crossed out, except for Roxas, whose name Sora spots at the bottom of one of the pages before crossing it off. Sora tries to brainstorm anyone else he can ask as he flips to the next page of the notepad. He pauses, however, when he spots a single name at the top of the page. He looks at the name, then up at the bench before he walks over to sit by the person sitting on that bench.

"Hey, Sora. What's that notepad for?"

"Oh, uh, I'll tell you in a second," Sora replies, embarrassed, as he sits down on the bench.

Awkward silence ensues before Sora finally asks, "So, uh...Riku?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you, um...maybe...go out on a date with me tomorrow night?"

Riku blushes and his face forms a smile for only a second before he raises an eyebrow and lets his smile disappear to ask, "Why?"

_I hope he doesn't say no like everyone else. He's my last option..._

Sora begins to explain nonchalantly, "I want to go on a date with Kairi, but I'm too afraid to ask and I'm afraid she doesn't like me like that so I'm trying to find someone who'll go on a date with me to make her jealous. So...would you help me?"

Riku sits in silence, unsure of what to say.

"Please, Riku? Pretty please, with a cherry on top? Pleeeeeeeeaaaaassssseeeee-"

"Okay, Sora, okay. Yes, I'll help you and go on a date with you."

"Hooray! Thanks, Riku! You're the greatest and most amazing best friend ever!" Sora gives Riku the biggest, tightest hug ever.

The sudden hug startles Riku, but he smiles as Sora jumps up and starts to run away. Then, he realizes, "Hey, Sora! Come back!" He starts running after Sora after realizing Sora can't hear him.

"Sora!" Riku yells as he gets closer.

Sora stops running and turns around. "Riku?"

Once Riku catches up to Sora, he puts his hands on Sora's shoulders. "Sora. You didn't tell me the time or where we were meeting or anything."

"Oh." Sora facepalms, then sighs, "Sorry, Riku...I guess I was just so focused on trying to find a date that I forgot to plan a date."

Riku gives him a playful look that says, 'What am I going to do with you?', before he suggests, "Well, Sora...how about this. I'll pick you up at eight, and we'll drive to the Mexican place Kairi works at."

"But Mexican places aren't romantic...How am I supposed to make Kairi jealous if we're not on a romantic date?"

"It's because it'll be easier to make her jealous if we're on a date when she's around."

"Oh, yeah...You're right," Sora chuckles to himself.

"Plus, and trust me on this, we can make anything romantic if we try hard enough." Riku winks at Sora.

"Yeah, you're right," Sora nods. He pauses for a second before giving Riku another tight hug. "Thank you so much again, Riku! I really appreciate it!"

Once Sora pulls back, he waves bye to Riku, and as Riku does the same Sora yells, "Oh yeah, Riku! In that case, let's wear nice clothing too! That'll make it more romantic!"

Riku turns around to nod a yes at Sora and smile before he turns back around to walk away.

Sora runs all the way home.

_Yes, I'm so excited! My plan is going to come together perfectly!_

Sora sighs and smiles even larger.

_Riku really is the best._

_~_

Riku checks his watch which reads: 8:05pm. Then, he sighs, "When is Sora going to come out? He's late."

After a couple more minutes, Sora bolts through the front door of his house and runs around to the passenger side of the car.

Riku unlocks the car doors to let Sora in, and Sora jumps right into the passenger seat.

"I'm so excited!"

"Sora. You're late."

Sora looks down at his lap, "Sorry, Riku...I took a nap this afternoon and lost track of time."

Riku laughs, "Sora, really, what am I going to do with you? This is like when you slept through the end of our final test."

Sora's sorry expression changes to a more playful one. "I finished all the test questions before I decided to nap. The nap was my reward for finishing so fast."

"Yeah, and you still got a lower grade on it than me, didn't you," Riku teases.

Sora's expression changes to a frown. "Let's just go on our date now."

Riku's expression fades into a frown as well. "Okay, Sora." Riku starts the car and begins the drive from Sora's house to the Mexican place Kairi works at.

Once they get to the restaurant, Riku shuts off the car and Sora gets out immediately. However, once Riku moves to open his door, Sora stops him.

"Riku, wait!" Sora runs around to the side Riku is on and opens the door for him. "We're supposed to be playing romantic, remember?" Sora smiles as he takes Riku's hand and leads him out of the car.

"Right." Riku blushes, but it's too dark for anyone to tell.

Sora grabs Riku's hand again and exclaims, "Okay, let's go!" before he and Riku walk up to the restaurant entrance. Once there, Sora opens the door to let Riku walk in first, then walks in after him.

As they walk up to the front of the podium, the woman standing there greets them, "Hello, and welcome to our humble restaurant! How many do you have?"

"Oh, uh, two please!" Sora answers enthusiastically.

"Oh, so you two are a couple!" The lady winks at Sora and Riku as she leads them to a two-seater table by a window.

After sitting them down, the woman hands out their silverware and asks, "Is there anyone specific you'd like to request as your server tonight?"

Sora answers, "Kairi please!"

"Oh, is she your friend? I bet she'd smile seeing the two of you together like this!"

A light blush runs along both of the boys faces.

_Well...I don't think this would make her smile, but...it sure makes me want to._

"Now," the woman says, a little more serious, "her shift doesn't start for about ten more minutes. So, if you guys are willing to wait, would you mind if I got you your drinks?"

"Not at all mam," Sora smiles.

"Great! So, what would the two of you lovely young men like to drink?"

"Hmm," Sora wonders, "how about-"

"We'll share a water," Riku interrupts.

Sora looks at him in confusion for a second before he looks back at the lady and confirms, "Yes, uh...we'll share one water."

"Oooh, okay. I'll be right back with your water, boys!" The lady winks at them again before she turns around and walks away to get their drink.

During the couple minute wait, the boys sit in silence. Sora switches his stare from the ceiling to the entrance and back again over and over while Riku just stares straight ahead.

_Wow...Sora really did dress up nice. I mean, he's not wearing a tux or anything but...he has a really nice sky blue button-up shirt. It really matches his eyes..._

"Awww, cuties!"

The woman's comment quickly breaks Riku out of his trance.

"Don't worry, I haven't been here for that long," the woman chuckles, "Really, I just walked up." The woman takes a cup of water with two straws in it off her tray and carefully sets it in the middle of the table. "Here you go boys! Until Kairi gets here, don't hesitate to call me if you need a refill on your water. My name is Diana." Diana holds her hand out.

Riku takes her hand to shake it first. "Thank you, Diana."

Sora shakes her hand second. "Thank you, Diana!"

"Oh, you're welcome boys. See you guys!"

"See ya!" Sora and Riku say as Diana walks away.

Once Diana is out of sight and earshot, Sora asks, "So, Riku...what next? We still have a while till Kairi gets here, so what should we do in the meantime?"

"I guess, well...we could talk."

"But about what?"

"Well, um...oh yeah."

"What?"

"Sora, you forgot to tell me what the notepad was for."

"Oh yeah. That," Sora chuckles. "That was my list of people to ask to help me with this."

"To go on a date with you to make Kairi jealous?"

"Yeah, exactly."

"Who all did you ask?"

"Boy...I asked a lot of people," Sora laughs. "I asked Xion, Selphie, and Namine first, but they all refused."

"What about Larxene, Sora?" Riku teases.

"Oof, no. Of course not," Sora answers, chuckling. "So, since my options for girls were gone, I went with plan B which meant: ask boys to help instead. So, following plan B, I asked Axel, Demyx, Tidus, Wakka, Ventus, and Roxas, but they refused too."

"Wh-"

"And no, I didn't ask Marluxia because once again, no. Just...no."

Sora and Riku sit in silence for a moment before Sora asks, "Riku, do you mind if I tell you the rejection stories?"

"Not at all. Go for it, Sora," Riku nods.

Sora spends the next fifteen minutes telling Riku about his attempts to get people to make Kairi jealous.

Then, once Sora finishes, Riku looks down at his watch.

_Huh. 8:38? Shouldn't Kairi __have_ _been here eight minutes ago?_

No sooner than after Riku checks his watch, Diana walks up to their table.

"I'm sorry, boys. I'm afraid Kairi can't make it today...She called in sick."

"Oh..." Sora looks down at ths table.

Riku looks back at Sora.

_I'm sorry, Sora..._

"So, boys...do you mind if I be your waiter instead?"

"It's fine, Diana. We don't mind at all if you're our waiter instead," Riku forces a smile.

"Okay, boys. I promise I'll do my best! Now...are you guys ready to order, or do you still need a little while to think about it?"

"We still need a minute," Sora answers, still looking down at the table.

"Okay, I'll be right back." Diana leaves.

After a few minutes, Sora finally looks back up at Riku. "Should we just leave now? I mean, Kairi's not going to be here, so what's the point in going on this date with you?"

Riku feels a twinge of pain in his heart. "Well...what if we just continue the date?"

"What's the point in that Riku?"

"I mean for practice. What if we continue the date till the end and practice being romantic so it seems more believable when Kairi actually does get to see?"

"Ummm....I guess. Okay, we'll do that." Sora quickly adds, "But not because I want to. It's just pretend."

"You have my word, Sora. It'll all be just pretend."

"Good."

"Now...maybe we should start with this water. We should start by drinking it at the same time and staring into each other's eyes."

"Well, if it'll make this seem more believable, then sure!"

About an hour later, Riku drops Sora off at his house. "Bye, Sora! Thanks for the magical night!"

"You too, Riku! Bye!"

After Sora shuts the door to his house, Riku gets a couple texts from Sora:

**Wow, nice one Riku!**

**I think we really sold the romance thing!**

_Yeah...I guess we did_, _but...I think...one day...I'll have to tell Sora._

Riku sends some texts back to Sora:

**We sure did** **!**

**Sora, do you ** **want** ** to go on more dates?**

**Why?**

**Because the more dates we go on, the more practice we get in being** **believable****, and the higher the chance Kairi hears about it in school, the more likely your plan will work****.**

**She'll definitely get jealous and ask you out.**

**So, what do you say?**

**Hmmm**

**Yeah**

**Let's do it!**

_I'm so selfish.._.

_~_

So Sora and Riku go on a lot more dates. Riku suggested they mix it up to make the dates seem real and to get different kinds of practice to be prepared for everything, so for their second date, they went to the book store. Sora played around, got hushed a few times, and Riku bought him a fantasy book with a love triangle in it. On their next dates, they went to the movies, the park, and the cafe. They only have one more date to go on before they go to Kairi's work and try to make her jealous, but they have to go to school first.

As Riku walks through the hallway at the end of the school day to find Sora, he is stopped by Axel.

"Hey, Riku. Where you goin?"

"To find Sora."

"Well...oh, speaking of Sora. A little birdie told me you guys are dating," Axel winks.

Riku blushes hard and Axel laughs.

"You're blushing now? Dang, Riku, you must really be into Sora! You never blush like this!"

"Is that all you stopped me for, Axel?" Riku asks, still blushing.

"Well...sort of. I knew that you were into Sora, but-"

"You knew?" Riku interrupts softly, embarrassed.

"Well, yeah of course I knew. A lot of us did. You only smile when he's around, you help him with almost anything he asks because we all know you have trouble saying no to him, you stare at him lovingly all the time...Really, I can't believe it took this long for him to notice."

"Well, yeah. He is extremely oblivious," Riku chuckles. "He doesn't realize that Kairi really is into him. All he would have to do is ask and she'd go on a date with him." Riku looks down at the ground and says, with sadness in his voice, "He wouldn't have had to go on any of these dates then..."

"Oh, buddy..." Axel realizes. "Did you agree to that thing he asked me and a lot of other people to? Did you agree to go on a date to make Kairi jealous?"

"Not just a date. A lot of dates sounds about right."

"Riku, buddy. You're dragging yourself deeper into the hole. You're going to fall for him harder and he's going to just go to Kairi. He really thinks that you're doing this as a friend to help him out. You dragging this out is only going to make it harder for you. Maybe you should quit it now."

"I know...It's just...I...I couldn't-"

"Hey, Axel! Let's go!" Roxas yells.

"Yeah, Axel, it's time to go!" Xion yells afterwards.

"Coming Rox and Xion!" Axel yells back. "Sorry, buddy. I have to go. Have fun with your boy troubles." Axel turns around to walk over to Roxas and Xion and waves back at Riku.

Riku stands there in silence.

_I couldn't just let it be. I just wanted the feeling as if we really were dating because maybe then, I could finally let him go..._

Eventually, Riku looks up to see Sora talking to Kairi. He walks over to them, but they're done talking by the time he gets there. Kairi walks away upon seeing Riku.

"Bye, Sora! Sorry, I have to go to sword practice. See you!"

Sora waves bye to Kairi, then turns back to Riku.

"So, Sora...are you excited?" Riku asks, trying to push the sadness out of his voice. Riku whispers in Sora's ear, "The whole school knows. They really think we're dating. The news definitely got to Kairi, and we only have one more date until..." he pauses, "until the day we make Kairi jealous and she asks you out."

"Yeah!" Sora exclaims. Then, he whispers in Riku's ear. "You're right. She actually walked up to ask me about our relationship. It means the plan is working."

Sora pauses, then talks aloud, "So, Riku...are you ready for our date?" Sora smiles up at Riku.

"I sure am, Sora," Riku smiles, looking down lovingly at Sora and into his eyes.

They keep holding hands as they walk out of school, and keep the loving stares until they get into Riku's car. Riku watches as Sora's head begins to turn to the window, seeing Sora's smile fade to a frown.

_What's wrong with Sora? I thought he'd be happy knowing that his plan is working. What could be bothering him?_

"Sora, are you okay?"

"Sure am, Riku!" Sora continues to stare out the window.

"Okay..." Riku concentrates on the road all the way to Sora's house.

Once Riku stops the car by Sora's driveway, he reminds him, "Okay, Sora. I'll be back in an hour-and-a-half to pick you up so we can go on our date, okay?"

Sora looks up at Riku, and a big smile forms on his face. "Okay, Riku," Sora nods. Sora then opens the car door and runs into his house.

Riku looks out the window, smiling at Sora until Sora walks inside and shuts the door to his house. Riku starts his car back up and starts driving to his own house.

_Something's definitely off about Sora...Maybe I should...yeah._

Riku quickly swerves to take the other road to the grocery store instead of going straight to his house. He only takes a couple minutes in the grocery store to get what he came for and to pay. Then, he rushes out to the parking lot and into his car to drive home.

Once home, he goes straight to his room to get dressed in nicer clothes. He puts on some nice, black dress shoes, dress pants, an ice blue button up shirt, and a black bow tie. Then, he brushes his hair again before grabbing a gift bag from his closet.

Now ready, he leaves his house with the item from the grocery store and the gift bag, then gets into his car to go pick up Sora.

~

"Hey, Sora! You ready?"

Sora gets into the passenger side of Riku's car and nods, "Yeah!"

"By the way, Sora, don't look in the back."

"Ooh, why not, Riku?" Sora teases, "I could just turn around right-"

"Please don't, Sora," Riku puts a hand on his shoulder. "It'll ruin it."

"It?"

"You'll see."

"Why can't I see now?"

"Trust me, please. It'll be better if you just wait."

"Okay, Riku..." Sora grumbles.

As Riku starts driving, Sora looks up at him.

_It's weird._

Sora begins to smile again.

_No matter how dark it is, it's like I can _ _always_ _see Riku. I can always see his long silver hair. His...pretty silver hair..._

Once Riku stops the car at the restaurant, he demands, smiling, "Okay, Sora. Go in without me, I'll be right there. I promise."

"Okay, Riku!" Sora answers enthusiastically before he leaves the car to walk into a restaurant.

_Wow, this is a pretty nice restaurant. Chandeliers...fancy chairs...silk tablecloths..._

Sora giggles and sighs aloud.

_It really is romantic..._

"Hey, you okay?"

"Ahh!" A hand moving in front of Sora's face startles him. Sora blinks for a second after his outburst and focuses on the person in front of him.

"Axel?"

"Are you gonna answer my question?"

"Axel, what are you doing here?"

Sure enough, Axel stands behind the podium, wearing the male waiter uniform.

"Sora. Answer my question first."

"Yes, Axel, I'm fine," Sora giggles. "Now, what are you doing here?"

"Would you believe me if I said I just got a job because I decided it's time I be a productive worker in the economy?" Axel smiles nervously.

Sora raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, yeah, fine. I..." Axel pauses. Then, he smiles playfully, "Let's just say...I'm here because of a ship." Axel winks.

_A ship? What does this fancy restaurant_ _have_ _to do with boats?_

"Now, Sora. How many?"

"Two."

"Kay, here you go." Axel leads Sora to a beautiful two-seater near an indoor waterfall, beside a bunch of pretty, big indoor plants, and beside a window that looks out at a forest.

Once Sora sits down, Axel says, "Okay, I'll be back when Riku gets here. Got it memorized?"

"Yeah," Sora blushes hard.

_At first I couldn't believe he guessed, but then I remembered that we had that rumor __passed_ _ around school..._

"Good," Axel smiles, then waves Sora off as he walks away.

Sora begins to look at the view outside the window.

"Sora! Close your eyes!"

_Riku?_

_"_Umm...okay," Sora quickly closes his eyes and covers them with his hands.

"Now open."

Sora opens and uncovers his eyes to see a bouquet of red rose's in his face and a smiling Riku.

Sora takes the roses and looks up into Riku's eyes. "Riku..."

Riku slowly hands a gift bag to Sora, his face very blushy.

"Oh, what's this?"

"You'll see," Riku answers, embarrassed.

Sora quickly throws the tissue paper out of the bag, then reaches in to pull out a big plush.

"Oh, wow! It's a Meow Wow dreameater plush! So cool!"

_Riku is so cool._

"Riku," Sora begins, looking deep into Riku's eyes with a big loving smile and stare, "you really are amazing."

Somehow, Riku's entire face manages to get redder as he slowly sits down into his chair to keep from collapsing on the spot. "Yeah, Sora...you sure are."

Sora begins to blush harder too.

"So, would the lovebirds like to order their drink?"

Broken from his trance, Sora answers, "Umm, yeah. How about we get..."

Riku glances at the menu, then whispers something to Sora.

Sors nods, then suggests, "How about we get one Cupid's Bow Milkshake to share?"

"Coming right up, you two," Axel laughs before walking away to get their drink.

"Oh, sorry, Sora. I have to take this..." Riku pulls out his phone and proceeds to text Sora.

"Sorry, Riku, I need to take this too..." Sora says as he receives texts from Riku.

**Nice addition with the flowers and plush right?**

**If this was real, both our hearts would have melted**

_Right...real..._

**And the drink, very romantic right?**

**Oh yes**

**You did amazing Riku!**

**I definitely would have melted on the spot**

**If this was real of course**

_If_ _this was real..._

Both Sora and Riku put their phones away as Axel arrives with their drink and sets it on the table.

"Here you both go. I'll be back later when you guys are ready to order." Axel waves them both off this time as he walks away.

"The Cupid's Bow Milkshake, huh?" Sora stares at the two red straws twisted into hearts and the chocolate bow and arrow topper. "It looks really good..."

Both Sora and Riku lean in to take a sip of the milkshake from each of their straws. Riku closes his eyes to take his sip, but Sora keeps his eyes open. At the same time, they both take their sip, and Sora looks up.

Sora's face gets really red and he immediately pulls back.

Once Riku finishes taking a sip, his eyes flutter open and he pulls back. "Sora, are you okay?" Riku smiles.

"Y-yeah. I'm...Yeah, I'm okay."

_Crap, what's wrong with me? Sharing and drinking a drink at the same time didn't bother me on our first pretend date, so why is it bothering me now?_

Sora watches as Riku goes in for another sip.

Riku's eyes flutter open again as he pulls back.

_W__ow...I don't know why, but...these past couple of dates..._ _for_ _some reason I just can't help but stare into Riku's pretty eyes. Weren't they just eyes before? Now Riku's hair shines like the moon, a gleaning __soft_ _silver. When __did_ _I start noticing that?_

"Oh." Riku reaches over to their shared drink and pulls off the small, chocolate bow and the small, heart-tipped, chocolate arrow and places them in the palm of it's left hand. He holds his left hand out to Sora. "Here, Sora. Choose one."

Sora stares at both chocolate pieces. He reaches down and almost picks up the bow, but he hesitates. Then, he holds his hand above the arrow. He slowly picks it up and places it in the palm of his own hand.

Riku pulls his hand back and eats the chocolate bow, but Sora stares at the chocolate arrow in his hand.

_Have I been struck?_

Eventually, Sora puts the chocolate arrow in his mouth and lets it melt on his tongue.

~

By this point, sitting in the middle of the table, is a large bowl of chocolate and vanilla icecream with rainbow sprinkles.

"Mmmm. Sora, this was a great idea," Riku says, enjoying the sweet dessert.

"Hmmm...You know what could make this even better?"

"What, Sora?" Riku pauses.

"This," Sora winks before dipping his spoon in the icecream and lifting it up to Riku's lips.

"Y-yeah..." Riku opens his mouth to let Sora feed him the spoonful of icecream. "Mmm...you're right, Sora. You make everything sweeter."

_Wow..._

Sora's whole face becomes a blushy mess.

_Riku sure is good at that pretend flirting._

Sora and Riku go back and forth feeding each other icecream and flirting for a while until Sora suddenly pauses.

_Is that..._

Sora spots Xion sitting in a nearby table, then Namine at the same table.

_Wait...if the whole family is here, that means that she is too._

Sure enough, also sitting at that table happens to be Kairi, and at the moment, she is looking right at Sora.

Sora gulps.

"Sora, are you okay?" Riku asks, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm just not hungry anymore, Riku," Sora says, nervously.

Kairi starts beckoning Sora over.

"It's okay, Sora. I'm not hungry anymore either. Are you ready to go then?"

"Yeah, Riku. Go ahead out to the car. I'll be right there, I just need to do something first."

_I'm not really __ready_ _to_ _go __yet_ _...I wish we had longer._

After Riku pays and walks out of the restaurant, Sora walks over to Kairi.

"Sora...I have a question for you, but don't answer it immediately."

Sora nods.

"Sora, would you go out on a date with me?"

Sora stays silent, partly because of Kairi's request, and partly because he doesn't feel right.

_Shouldn't I be happy? Haven't I been waiting for this? Planning for this for so long? Then __why_ _don't I feel right? What's wrong with me?_

"First of all," Kairi begins, "I know there's nothing stopping you from saying yes. I know that all this- all your dates with Riku and the hand holding- was fake."

"How did you...figure it out?"

"I accidentally overheard a conversation between my sisters, Roxas, and Axel talking about the 'jealousy game Sora's playing' that he's using Riku for. I figure since it's fake, it can't exactly hurt Riku, so you wouldn't decide to refuse in fear of hurting Riku." Kairi pauses for a second, then begins again, "Second, I'm really into you, Sora. I've been waiting so long for you to gather up the courage to ask me out because you're all I want. I've been waiting since our promises at fourteen when you had to leave for a year. At the time I thought we had it. I felt like we would travel to the ends of the Earth for each other. However, when we came together again after that year, it was different. I...couldn't tell how you felt anymore while here I was, falling farther in love with my memories of you. It broke my heart feeling that I had lost your love when I had loved you so desperately, then even more so when you started these pretend dates with Riku. All I wanted was for you to be happy, but it hurt because...I thought it would be me, not him. It wasn't until I overheard the conversation that I really felt like I had a chance. You went through so much trouble to try to get me to ask you out, that now I feel like you really do feel the same. So...Sora. what do you say?"

_I...I don't know anymore. Where is my heart? What do I feel?_

"I-I...I need some time to think before I give you an answer..."

Kairi's face falls, "Okay."

"I'll give you my answer...by tomorrow night, in person, during your shift..." Sora grabs the plushie and bouquet of roses, then walks out of the restaurant, his head low. He then walks over to Riku's car, opens the passenger side door, and climbs into the seat.

"Good thing you got here, Sora. I was about to walk in to make sure nothing bad was happening. You were in there for a while," Riku says in relief.

"Yeah." Sora sits in the seat, staring into space.

Riku's expression changes to that of a worried one as he drives Sora home.

~

Sora lies face up in his bed staring at the ceiling.

_When did this all start? A week ago I would have accepted and gone on a date with Kairi when she asked? What changed? When did I start noticing all the little things about Riku like the stunning ice-blue to aquamarine color in his eyes and the __soft_ _ grey and shining silver of his beautiful long hair?_

Sora's mind went silent for a while until he remembered something.

_When we were little, I...I idolized Riku. He was perfect in my mind. All I wanted every day was to play with him. Every time I looked at him, I saw how his hair flowed in the wind, how his eyes twinkled when he had impressed me with the things he knew, the fire and playfulness in him when we competed, and the softness and concern in his voice whenever I was hurt __or_ _having a nightmare. At some point something must have changed, right? Something changed for both of us..._

_Sora's mind pauses._

_...Kairi. It was when Kairi came that...everything changed. I remember I immediately took to making her my friend and trying to impress her. Gone were the days when it was just me, Riku, and the world. At that point, it was supposed to be the three of us facing every day, but...that's not what happened. I wanted to learn all I could about Kairi. She told me of her old home far away from here and I listened intently every time. The time I spent with Riku decreased, and __many_ _times_ _we did __hang_ _out, I told him __about_ _Kairi's stories. Then, Riku started to change too. He started hanging out on his own, showing off for attention, earning all the respect and awe from all our other friends. I continued _ _to_ _admire him, but soon, every time I came to him so he wouldn't be alone, he started competion after competition. Then, when I got __tired_ _of it and stopped coming __to_ _him, he would start __competions_ _using Kairi as my motivation. 'Are you going to beat me, or are you going to show Kairi you're a weakling' he would say. Or he would say, 'Whoever wins gets to share the paopu fruit with Kairi'. The days I saw him as my perfect, pretty, caring best friend were gone. He was my rival in everything. As for Kairi, we got closer, spent much of our time together, and I would confide in her almost everything. We made a lot of promises when we were little. I thought that because of the way things were, we should be together forever. I wanted __to_ _hold onto the stories and her gentleness. She was new, different, and it was captivating and cool that she could be that and also be what Riku used to be for me. But...when we were fourteen and Riku fifteen, Riku changed further and hit a dark period. He ran away from home and Kairi disappeared. I still had to go to school, but I looked for them all the time. I remember sometimes I saw Riku, but __all_ _he did was hold in my face that I hadn't found Kairi. He told me he would find her because I didn't care about her __and_ _it __angered_ _me. But...what I remember the most is the day I found them both. Kairi and I were separated and __we_ _made more promises to come back to each other, then Riku and I were separated. He made me promise to protect Kairi, but...even _ _though_ _ I agreed...I couldn't leave him. I wanted __the_ _three of us to be together again. I remember that I went __to_ _search __for_ _him but..._

Sora searches his mind, but he still can't remember.

_I have never been able to remember what happened in between. Kairi told me __that_ _ there __was_ _a whole year where I was gone, and when I asked my parents, they said we had moved temporarily and that I stopped caring as much __about_ _things because I was away from my best friends. Something changed when I returned again though...I...I saw Kairi at school, and she looked different, but...I continued to search for Riku. Again, I looked whenever I had time, but it seemed every time he was just out of reach...I think this is when my view began __to_ _change again. Riku wasn't my cocky rival anymore. He was my best friend who needed my help._

Sora sighs.

_Kairi was there when I finally found Riku. I remember she hugged me tightly because I hadn't hung around with her since before the year I was gone, but I barely reacted. I kinda hugged her, but it felt so...unnatural. When the hug broke, she looked into my eyes and pointed behind me where a figure in a black cloak was passing through. I remember _ _she_ _led me over to them, insisting they were Riku. I didn't believe her until when she, first, made me close my eyes, then had me open them __up_ _ to the cloaked figure with his hood down. He looked different, but I could tell immediately that it was Riku. I remember I sobbed in front of him while he tried to _ _avoid_ _looking at me. I felt so hurt when I had looked __for_ _him for so long __and_ _he chose __to_ _avoid me. He said that he didn't want _ _to_ _be_ _ found. He still didn't feel right after his __dark_ _ period. Nevertheless, I got to see him and Kairi every day again. However, I began trying to hold onto the _ _past_ _again. I thought I loved Kairi when we were fourteen because she was __always_ _there and was the only one there for me, and I was happy to do the same. But at fifteen...I held onto that. I focused a lot on Kairi, but my relationship with Riku this time __was_ _different. He was and still is _ _always_ _there for me. We spent _ _more_ _time_ _ together than we had in years and he let me speak __about_ _how pretty Kairi was. He encouraged me all the time. I felt like I really had my best friend back, except for the fact that I didn't see all the little things anymore. I looked at Kairi whenever I could and forced myself to find all the little things __about_ _ her. That's why I got so obsessed over asking her out. I couldn't tell if she was still in love with me, but I wanted things to be the way they were, so I hoped. I tried to find a way __to_ _get her to ask me out, and Riku agreed to participate in my plan. And...that's when I think things began to __change_ _ again. There were times in those dates where I forgot Kairi-_

Sora's thoughts are interrupted by his phone beside him when it buzzes. He picks up his phone and holds it above his face while still lying down. He turns it on and unlocks it to see some texts from Riku.

**Hey, Sora**

**I just wanted ****to** **remind** **you**** that today's the day.**

**It's the last date.**

**It's the one where Kairi will ask** **you** **out and you guys will live happily ever after, right?**

**Don't forget that I'll be at your house at 8 to pick you up.**

_Crap! That's in only thirty minutes!_

He gets up off his bed so fast that he gets a head rush and has to rest for a few minutes.

Once Sora's not nearly as dizzy, he runs to take a shower and get ready.

~

Sora checks his phone while standing in his driveway. His phone reads: 8:18pm.

Then, just as he puts his phone in his pocket, Riku pulls up in his car.

Realizing this, Sora holds the bag he's holding behind his back and runs to the car. He opens the back door to put the bag in the car, shuts it, then opens the passenger side door to climb into the front seat.

After closing the door and buckling his seatbelts, he looks up at Riku's face.

Riku stares straight ahead at the road, frowning.

_What's wrong with Riku?_

Sora decides to mention teasingly to get Riku's attention, "So. Who's late this time huh? I got out there on time and waited." Sora sticks his tongue out.

"...Oh...um, what? Sorry, Sora I..." Riku takes a deep breath to stop his trembling voice. "I wasn't paying attention and accidentally drove in the wrong direction instead of driving directly to your house."

Sora's heart begins to hurt. "Riku...are you okay?" he asks, deeply concerned.

"Yeah...It's okay, Sora. It'll all be fine."

_That's not the same thing. He didn't answer my question._

"Riku, I...I need you to tell me if you're okay. I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong."

Riku hesitantly speaks, "Sora, I...I'm okay. Nothing is wrong."

"Okay..."

Riku drives to the Mexican restaurant, staring at the road sadly while Sora stares at him, a pained expression on his face.

Once Riku stops the car, he looks over at Sora.

Sora moves to open the door.

"Sora, wait."

Sora stops abruptly to look back at Riku.

"We're supposed to be playing romantic, remember?" Riku forces a smile.

Sora nods, then smiles at Riku.

Riku opens his door to get out, shuts the door, and walks around the the passenger side door where Sora is. He opens the door, then takes Sora's hand to lead him out of the car.

Sora smiles at Riku as Riku leads him out of the car and it causes Riku to blush and his face to form a little, but real, smile.

They hold hands walking up to the restaurant, and when they get to the doors, Riku holds the door open to let Sora walk in first, then follows. They walk up to the podium.

Kairi stands behind the podium. "How many?"

"Two please," Riku answers, his voice neutral.

"Right this way." Kairi leads the boys to a two-seater table and sits them down.

"So. Sora? Riku? What would you two like to drink?"

Riku sits, staring at his lap in silence, so Sora answers.

"A...water for Riku, and I'll have...nothing."

Kairi nods, then leaves.

_Riku...what's going on? You told me you were fine before, but _ _something's_ _wrong that you're not telling me._

Kairi returns to set the water down in front of Riku, then leaves to a nearby table to help with some other customers.

Sora watches her do this, and finds out that he recognizes the customers.

Tidus and his girlfriend, Selphie and her boyfriend, and Wakka are sitting at the table Kairi walked to.

Sora then looks around at all the tables.

_There's Ventus, Namine, and Demyx at a table...and there's Axel, Roxas, and Xion at another. What is everyone doing here?_

By the time Kairi leaves to get stuff for the table she was at, Sora gets up and walks over to Ventus's table. "Ventus, What is everybody doing here?"

Ventus smiles, "We're all here for a ship."

"A...ship?"

"All I'll tell you is that it has to do with you and Riku."

"Uhhhmmm...okay. Bye, Ventus."

"See you, Sora," Ventus waves.

Sora starts to walk back to his table.

_What is __it_ _with these restaurants and boats? And what does this one have __to_ _do with me and Riku?_

When Sora sits down, he stares at Riku, hurt on his face.

_Riku I...I wish you would tell me what's going on...I want so badly to help._

Riku looks up at Sora a sad expression sitting on his face as he points back behind Sora. "Sora."

Sora's face scrunches up as he turns his head to see Kairi beckoning him. He looks back at Riku. "Riku, I'll...I'll be right back." Sora stands up from his chair to walk over to Kairi.

Once Sora stands in front of Kairi she asks, "Sora...have you made your decision?"

Sora sighs, "K-kairi...I-"

~

Riku sits at the table as Sora walks over to Kairi.

_Wow...everyone sure is watching intently. I doubt Sora notices that everyone is looking at the two of them. Just...just like always. They stand out. Two bright suns. They're similar in that way, and maybe that's why they like each other. They're two of a kind._

Time seems to slow as Riku's thoughts speed up.

_I feel so bad. I __know_ _I should be happy for them. They're my best friends. I guess...I just wish I was a sun too because...maybe then I would have a real chance. Not like these fake dates. It would be real. Maybe Sora would smile for real whenever he __sees_ _me, or flirt with me for real because he really likes me. It hurts when you feel so strongly towards another, and you know they'll never choose you, but...I'll get _ _used_ _ to it like I've always done. It's just the way it is. Sora and Kairi, then their best friend Riku._

Then, a phrase flows from Riku's memory.

_'I'm going to have to tell him'...I said that once, didn't I. Then...Axel told me: 'dragging this out will just make it harder for you'. He _ _could_ _ not have been more right. I'm so selfish. Kairi and Sora want to be together, and all I've been doing is pulling Sora as close to me as possible because I want him. I never went on those dates to help him. They were me. Instead of being happy for my friends, I fell harder, I pulled myself in deeper, just so I could feel my fleeting dreams._

Riku's heart begins to ache harder than before.

_This is tearing me apart. I feel so bad that I can't let this go. I can't stop feeling that it should be me. It should be me. It should be me...Could...no...would I be _ _able_ _ to stand by. I did it for so long but...it's different now. I accepted that nothing would ever happen between me __and_ _Sora then, but...the false dates, they...they put a sense of false hope in my heart. Axel was right. It __pulled_ _me in harder and harder. I've fallen farther in love with Sora than I thought I would, but he...he's going to stay the same __and_ _live happily ever _ _after_ _with Kairi._

Riku stands up to begin walking over to Sora and Kairi.

_I'll push it away again. I'll continue to be the best best friend I can for Sora and Kairi. I'll do it for them. But first...I'll fall apart if I don't tell him now. I have to tell him no matter what. I'll never be able to let him go, but that's okay as long as I support him the best I can with all my heart._

"K-kairi...I-"

"Sora, wait," Riku interrupts, now standing beside Sora and Kairi.

~

_Riku?_

"Sora...before you answer Kairi and you two have your...happily ever after...there's something I have to tell you..." Riku pauses. "Sora...I," he pauses again before taking a deep breath, then tries to avoid Sora's eyes as he holds his left hand up to his heart. "Sora, I...I lied to you..."

"Riku, what?"

_What could Riku possibly have lied about? Was he lying about being my best friend or...did he do something terrible like shoplift or murder someone?_

"I lied when I said that it would all be just pretend."

_Oh...that. It's still important, but my thoughts made it really anticlimactic._

"What do you mean, Riku?"

"I mean...I mean...I mean that I...I'm...I'm just..." Riku balls up his fists and holds them to his side. "I'm just so selfish."

_Riku..._

"You asked me to go on a date and...my stupid mind thought it was real for a second. I smiled because I never thought you sould ask because it's always been Kairi, right? Then I snapped out of it because you asking me couldn't be real. I understood the point when you told me it was for you and Kairi. I knew it had nothing to do with me...but...you asking in the first place...it put a spark in my heart. I never thought anything would happen because I've accepted that since after my dark period that it would be just you and Kairi, but then...you gave me fleeting hope. That first date made me feel like I didn't have to hide so much anymore, and in my selfishness...I came up with a logical reason to go on more dates with you. I told you that it would improve your odds of getting Kairi to ask you out when all I really cared about was getting to show you how I felt, even if it was just pretend to you. It was...intoxicating...getting to do and say all the things I never thought I would, and I convinced myself that if I just went on a couple more dates with you, then I would be satisfied and that I could...that I could maybe...get over you and not feel as bad whenever thinking about you and Kairi together. Then I could be a good friend, and not the friend that secretly wishes their friend would notice him more...but...Axel was right. I was lying to myself because all the dates did was pull me in deeper. I selfishly let you think I was doing it all because I was a good friend even though secretly I wished it was real because..." Riku pauses, takes a deep breath, and looks deep into Sora's eyes, his hand still over his heart, "Sora, I love you."

_Oh._

Sora stands there in shock, trying to keep himself from falling and melting on the spot.

_Oh...Riku...I really have been struck..._

Riku begins to avoid Sora's eyes again. "I never told you because...I didn't want to ruin our friendship, but...it was tearing me apart. I had to tell you. So...I understand and know you probably don't feel the same way...just remember that I'll always be there for you." Riku smiles sadly at Sora, "See you later..." and begins to walk away from Sora and Kairi and in the direction of the doors leading outside.

All of the people that came for a ship, they sit at the edge of their seats, anxious to see what happens next.

Sora watches Riku start to walk away for a few seconds before he says, "Wait...Riku. Come back...please."

Riku pauses, turns around to look at Sora, then walks slowly over to him.

"Riku, I want you to be here for this."

_I hope he doesn't think I'm trying to torture him..._

Sora turns to Kairi. "Kairi, to answer you...I'm...I'm sorry..."

Kairi's once smiling face starts to sadden.

"I really thought we were for each other...I thought that and even forced myself to think that before and after Riku's dark period...but now...I'm sorry that I can't be the one for you...all those pretend dates-"

"Sora..." Kairi interrupts. "I think I already know...I think maybe...you should tell that last part to Riku yourself...Don't feel bad for me...I'll be okay. I just...I'm just going to need some time alone for awhile, but...I promise you that we'll always be best friends." This time, Kairi flashes Sora a sad smile, "Goodbye, Sora. Take care." Kairi walks out of the restaurant.

After a few minutes, Axel asks Xion, "Why don't you and Namine go after your sister instead of sitting here?"

"We'll comfort her later, but for now...she needs to have time to think alone before anyone comes to her," she answers. "It'll only make things worse if we try to go to her now..."

Suddenly, both Xion and Roxas form a sly, playful smile, and look over at Axel. "Yeah, Axel. Got it memorized?" they both wink, before breaking out into giggles.

Axel begins to laugh too, "Okay, okay guys. Let's go back to watching quietly now."

"Now, Riku..." Sora begins. "All of those pretend dates...they pulled me in too. At first...it was just to make Kairi jealous...but the feelings in my heart," Sora brings his right hand up to his heart, "they forced me to reevaluate what I thought I knew about myself. I thought...I thought I loved Kairi...but I had no explanation for how it made me feel going on those pretend dates with you. Slowly, your flirting began to kill me, your smiles melt me, and your presence...I felt safer than ever. I never wanted any of the hugs to stop, and especially not the dates. I wanted it all to last forever, but...I loved Kairi right? This last date drew closer and...I couldn't understand why I felt so disappointed because...it was exactly what I wanted, right?" Sora looks down at his feet, "Yesterday...before you got to my house...I laid on top of my bed, staring at the ceiling, to think, and...and I think I figured it out..." Sora looks deep into Riku's eyes, his right hand still over his heart, smiling big, "Riku, I love you. I know that now."

Riku stood, shocked as Sora was before, trying not to fall to the ground.

Those who came for a ship, they began to clap, some cheering.

"I'm so proud of those two," Axel begin to tear up.

"Axel, are you...crying?" Xion giggles.

"Well, if course I am. I knew my boy Riku would get it."

"Really? As I recall, you tried to tell Riku to stop because Sora was never going to feel the same," Roxas teases.

"Oh, be quiet Rox." Axel ruffles Roxas's hair with a laugh, "I did nothing of the sort."

Riku looks into Sora's eyes again, blushing, "Sora, I...have a question." Riku walks up closer to Sora and puts a hand on his shoulder.

_Soooo close..._

Sora blushes hard, "Y-yeah, Riku?"

"Can...can I...can I kiss you?"

Sora smiles, still blushing extremely hard, "Go for it, Riku."

Riku smiles too. He runs his right hand partway through Sora's hair, then leaves it buried in it behind Sora's head. He hesitates, but soon leans in, closing his eyes as he begins to kiss Sora, his long silver hair falling in view of their faces from either side.

Sora kisses back, wrapping his arms around Riku's neck and pulling him close.

When they finally pull away, Riku satisfyingly says, "Oh...Sora."

Sora stares at Riku lovingly, "Riku, do you wanna go on a real date this time?"

"I sure do, Sora," Riku answers, huge smile on his face.

"Riku...I love you," Sora says, leaning in again.

"Sora, I love you too." Riku leans in as well.

And the two of them end their night with a sweet, deep kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, yeah, so this is the longest oneshot I've written so far (wow over 9,100 words!). When I originally posted it on Wattpad a while ago I was concerned about how long it was, and as you can tell, there's a lot of unexplained/left out stuff like the other dates and Sora's gift. It is like that for a reason because I tried to make it as short as possible, but someday I am going to turn this one into a full fic and add in everything else, especially if people want it.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this oneshot! I am always open to appreciation and constructive criticism!


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